As it is known, the human body behaves like a capacitor and the source of generation is triboelectricity as a result of friction in our actions throughout the day. Thus, the human body, in conjunction with any clothing being worn, acts as a voltage source, a capacitor, as well as several linear and nonlinear resistors. Because each human is unique there are many environmental and structural variables that affect the electrical characteristics of an individual's body.
The present invention is able to control these series of variables in a way that can counteract the effects produced by the buildup of static electricity in a user's body. Specifically, the present invention enables the rapid discharge of static electricity from a user's body. Thus, the present invention is able to maintain the charge stored in the user's body below 10V by discharging any excess static electricity in tenths of a second.
The human body is considered a to be a capacitor of 100 to 200 pico-farads. This value, is normally taken by representing the human body as a cylinder with a one-meter length and a sixty-centimeter diameter. However, this representation does not take into account the clothing worn by an individual. When the individual's clothing is factored into the representation of the human body, the resistance range of an antistatic device must be modified.
In practice, in the areas called EPA (Electrostatic Protected Areas), the recommended resistance range is 0.75 mega-Ohms to 35 mega-Ohms. This value presents a lower limit of the resistance of the human body. Because of this, antistatic devices must be designed with a relatively low resistance of 2.5 mega-Ohms.
In order to solve this problem, various types of footwear that have been labeled as antistatic have been launched in the market but do not comply with these parameters. Accordingly, the present invention is encapsulated in the sole of a shoe and is designed to maintain a resistance of 2.5 mega-Ohms. This guarantee a piece of footwear retains antistatic capabilities throughout its useful life, even when the shoe is filled with water.
Precisely, the other variables that will be detailed below, raise the resistance value of the present invention to 30 mega-Ohms. However, this value decreases throughout the day. Further, the structural elements of a piece of footwear, with the presence of the human foot, behave as if it were an electrolytic cell, where there is ion circulation. This causes a reduction of structural and working resistance. Additionally, structural and working resistance can be reduced depending on the humidity, temperature, acidity, salinity of the system and the person's weight. This present invention is designed to be a robust device that will not degrade during the life of the shoe. To achieve this, the present invention is composed of an alloy of four types of natural and synthetic rubber. Additionally, the present invention may employ polyurethane as an antimicrobial coating.